The Mitchells vs the Machines Movie Review

The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)

Watch The Mitchells vs the Machines on Netflix
Written by: Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe (written by), Alex Hirsch (story consultant)
Directed by: Michael Rianda, Jeff Rowe (co-director)
Starring: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Eric André, Olivia Colman, Fred Armisen, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend
Rated: PG
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Plot
A quirky, dysfunctional family's road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity's unlikeliest last hope.

Verdict
It's a kid movie that's not completely vapid. At it's core it's a coming of age story wrapped in an apocalypse. Younger kids will like the humor which is meme heavy, but it's not going to age well.
It depends.

Review
Teenage Katie doesn't really fit in. As she describes it, like any kid that didn't fit in she made weird art which became videos. She's now headed to college having found her people. Her flight West becomes a road trip when her dad wants to reconnect with her, but on his terms.

The movie banks on the world's obsession and over-reliance on devices. There's nothing new to this plot point. This is Skynet and Hal 9000 where the machines take over. I like the setup. A cell phone wants revenge when the big tech company introduces walking cell phones, robots.

Through the robot apocalypse father and daughter see each other's point of view, realizing they have more in common than they thought.

The voice acting seems to opt for named actors rather than capable voice actors. Danny McBride seems to be the biggest miscast. The comedy is a mix of meme type content that depends on your style of humor. I think younger children will like the style more than adults.

The animation style is CGI with a hand drawn filter and mixed media inset to highlight certain jokes and in-jokes. It's a cute style that feels a bit zany and busy.

The conclusion could be predicted. Father and daughter reconnect, the robot uprising fails in part due to the dog which was amusing. It's a solid kids movie, but I prefer something with more depth. Kids movie often feel a bit shallow. While this mixes genres, the story isn't novel.